Celebrations and Beer: a pairing for the history books
December 6, 2023
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Holiday celebrations and beer is an epic pairing believed to have been set from the Vikings, as they drank to their gods during Jul – the Scandinavian Yuletide. But there are many, many more beer and celebration pairings the span history.
Beer Pairings can be more than beer and food
Two words – beer pairings. If you’re a craft beer geek, these two simple words can make the corners of your mouth turn up, while making your salivary glands kick into overdrive and your heart go pitter-patter.
And that’s just because you’re probably thinking of the simple pairings. Pairings such as pizza or burgers and beer. Or maybe your idea of beer pairings is up a notch. Pairings such as beer pairing dinners or beer pairing dessert plates or beer and cheese.
But the most widely known and widely accepted beer pairing off all time is something that we simply take for granted. Beer and celebrations. Now, you’re really drooling!
How did beer and celebrations come to be paired together?
Humans have long since known how to party with beer! But where did this pairing come from and why?
Celebrations were purposeful.
Celebrations have been purposefully planned since there were humans walking the earth. Albeit those early celebrations were more than likely geared towards spiritualism and gods in hopes that they would look down on humanity favorably.
Nobody wanted to get gobbled up by a saber tooth tiger or be swallowed up in a fiery crevasse. Why not celebrate the gods if there was a belief they could prolong your life?
Beer was by chance.
Alcohol, on the other hand, was more of an accident than a purposeful concoction. At least tens of thousands of years ago. More than likely it came from fermented fruit.
Humans came across rotting fruit, and either brave or just plain hungry, we can only assume they thought, “Why not? Let’s eat it!” Turns out, it made them feel pretty good, at least until they had too much.
A purposeful chance to celebrate!
When these two very distinctly different things came together to officially create one of the most epic pairings on the planet – celebrations and beer – nobody really knows. Although, for us beer and party lovers, we’d like to claim it was from Oktoberfest. But celebrations and alcohol have traipsed across the globe hand in hand long before that historial royal wedding was even in the works.
Say, some 10,000 years before that. Recently, archaeologists unearthed several massive stone troughs in Southern Turkey at a site called Göbekli Tepe. It’s not the stone vessels that hold the intrigue, though, but what the vessels held – traces of calcium oxalate. This chemical just happens to be a by-product of brewing.
So why do researchers think that this place was party central? As far as archaeologists, historians, and scientists can tell, Göbelki Tepe wasn’t built to be inhabited. There’s no evidence of people living there and no practical purpose for these ruins, with the exception of a large gathering place.
Believed to be the first temple complex built anywhere on earth, one can see how the Guardian’s Betsy Reed has made the following statement, “It must have been the expression of a great shared dream. In that sense, it was a city that the gods built.”
A city built solely for celebrations…and the consumption of beer, of course. By the trough load. It’s as though knowing how to party is bred into humans from the dawn of time. Even if the parties were for the gods.
Beer and celebrations are nothing new
And the celebrations and pairings were only just beginning. The Chinese drank wine from rice and grapes. The Mayans used fermented corn. The Celts – mead; the Mongols – fermented horse milk. The Greeks – wine.
And drinking copious amounts was not frowned upon. In fact, if you didn’t drink, you were thought of as being no fun at all. Dangerous, actually. Because without a drink, you couldn’t toast your allegiance to whatever was being toasted.
Celebratory glassware of yesteryear
And glassware then was just as important as glassware is today. Maybe even more so, because the glassware then was made to ensure you kept drinking and kept toasting.
Tumblers that we drink from today, were literally tumblers thousands of years ago. They would tumble if you set them down. Made with rounded bottoms, they were designed to keep the drinker always drinking.
There’s more! Royalty in early medieval times were known to snap the stems off of wine glasses, also making it impossible to set the glasses down if full.
Origins of holiday pairings of celebrations and beer
As for holiday celebrations and beer, this epic pairing was believed to have been set from the Vikings, as they drank to their gods during Jul – the Scandinavian Yuletide.
Farmers were required to brew a beer for Jul every year, so as not to lose their land. Consuming beer in honor of their gods remained important long after Christianity took over, too.
And for many others, celebrations were held across the globe for solstice festivals where the completion of harvest was held in highest regard. It was the time of plentiful food and beverages. The stronger the flavor, the stronger the brew, the better.
Christmas Ales
Today, Christmas Ales are now an integral part of these annual celebrations; staying true to the stronger the flavor, the stronger the brew, the better. And while the glassware of today no longer falls over if set down, it appears as though they might.
Head to any popular pairing of celebration and beer, holidays or otherwise, and you’ll rarely see a glass full of beer just sitting there. Instead, you’ll see the bottom of a glass while it’s tilted up to your friends’ smiling faces being readied for the next delectable poor.
A toast of allegiance to the best pairing around – beer and celebrations!
Malts to get the party started right!
Here at Malteurop we pride ourselves on our high quality and diverse malts. Malts that are a perfect match for all the beers you diligently work to perfect. Click here to learn more and get the party started with the perfect pairing of malts to go with your celebrations.
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Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the beer, whiskey, and food processing industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, Malteurop’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring businesses of any size can create the finest beverages and food products on the planet.
Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how we can support your malting needs.
Contact us at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.
Malting is our passion. Quality is our promise.
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/sep/01/social-drinking-moderation-health-risks
https://thecraftycask.com/craft-spirits-liqueurs/traditional-christmas-drinks-around-world/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/drinking-alcohol-culture
https://warontherocks.com/2015/12/hops-for-the-holidays-a-brief-history-of-holiday-beer/